Top 3 Recommendations when Installing Firestopping Material | Kaloutas

Fireproof Patching services made easy. Call us today to discuss your needs.

Top 3 Recommendations when Installing Firestopping Material

Firestopping material in a facility. Top 3 Recommendations when Installing Firestopping Material

When it comes to pre­vent­ing fires in your facil­i­ty and mit­i­gat­ing the dam­age they can cause, you can nev­er be too care­ful. Coat­ing struc­tur­al com­po­nents and sen­si­tive assets with fire­proof paint is essen­tial for pro­tect­ing your prop­er­ty from col­lapse and major dam­age – but fire­proof­ing is only one of many meth­ods to con­sid­er for pro­tect­ing your peo­ple and prop­er­ty from flames. Fire­proof­ing and firestop­ping are often con­flat­ed, but these terms refer to two sep­a­rate projects. Where­as fire­proof­ing involves spray­ing or paint­ing mate­ri­als with a cemen­ti­tious or intu­mes­cent coat­ing, firestop­ping refers to mate­ri­als and meth­ods that block gaps between assem­blies so fire and smoke can­not eas­i­ly trav­el from one area to the next with­in your building.

Here are three key rec­om­men­da­tions to fol­low when installing firestop­ping mate­r­i­al at your facility.

Three Rec­om­men­da­tions When Installing Firestop­ping Material

1. Under­stand the Firestop­ping Alphabet

Firestop­ping mate­ri­als come in a vari­ety of forms, includ­ing sealants, sprays, mechan­i­cal devices, foam blocks and pil­lows. Dif­fer­ent firestop­ping meth­ods are best suit­ed for spe­cif­ic appli­ca­tions. But with so many poten­tial firestop­ping appli­ca­tions, it helps to rely on some sort of stan­dard that sim­pli­fies the process. 

Under­writ­ers Lab­o­ra­to­ries (UL), an inter­na­tion­al inde­pen­dent safe­ty sci­ence com­pa­ny, tests and assess­es firestop­ping mate­ri­als pro­duced by dif­fer­ent man­u­fac­tur­ers and gives them let­ter-based and numer­ic des­ig­na­tions based on the type of pen­e­trat­ed fire-rat­ed struc­ture (first let­ter) and con­struc­tion type (sec­ond let­ter). As for first let­ter assign­ments, F is for floor pen­e­tra­tions, W is for wall pen­e­tra­tions, and C is for both floor and wall pen­e­tra­tions. Sec­ond let­ter assign­ments include A for con­crete floors 5 inch­es thick or less, B for con­crete floors above 5 inch­es thick, C for framed floors – the list goes on.

From there, the fol­low­ing num­bers refer to the pen­e­trat­ing items. 1000 – 1999 cov­er met­al pip­ing, where­as 3000 – 3999 are for cables. Hav­ing these clas­si­fi­ca­tions handy (or mem­o­riz­ing them) is a great way to quick­ly iden­ti­fy which type of firestop­ping mate­r­i­al is need­ed and where it should go in your facility.

2. Imple­ment Firestop­ping Wher­ev­er There are Open­ings With­in Your Facility

Fires can spread fast, so con­tain­ing them is cru­cial. The more open­ings present in your facil­i­ty, the more space is cre­at­ed for flames to spread, putting your peo­ple, struc­ture, and assets at risk. As men­tioned ear­li­er, firestop­ping is con­cerned with block­ing off these open­ings via sprays, sealants, mechan­i­cal devices, and foam mate­ri­als. But even the high­est-qual­i­ty firestop­ping mate­ri­als won’t serve their func­tion if they’re not strate­gi­cal­ly and prop­er­ly placed through­out your facil­i­ty. As a rule of thumb, the two pri­ma­ry appli­ca­tions for firestop­ping are:

  • Around open­ings that are made in con­struc­tion for pipes, cables, or HVAC systems

  • Where two assem­blies meet, form­ing an expan­sion joint such as the top of a wall or floor-to-floor joints.

Put sim­ply, if there’s a gap between areas in your facil­i­ty, there’s an avenue for fire and smoke to escape – there­fore, all of these open­ings require atten­tion when installing firestop­ping mate­ri­als. Even a minor over­sight can result in major liability.

3. Keep a Close Eye on Codes

Fire codes rel­e­vant to your indus­try and facil­i­ty type deter­mine the con­struc­tion, pro­tec­tion, and occu­pan­cy rules you must adhere to. Keep in mind, how­ev­er, that these codes are sub­ject to change. Facil­i­ty man­agers must remain aware of any issues that might cause their facil­i­ty to fall out of com­pli­ance, as well as any updates in fire pro­tec­tion and pre­ven­tion codes. Keep­ing track of these detailed mat­ters requires sig­nif­i­cant time and ener­gy, how­ev­er, so it’s best to let the experts han­dle them and give you the run­down when necessary.

Work with Qual­i­ty Fire­proof Contractors

Firestop­ping is just one of many instal­la­tions relat­ed to fire safe­ty at your facil­i­ty, and it comes with its fair share of nuances and headaches. For­tu­nate­ly, Kaloutas brings the most updat­ed equip­ment and knowl­edge of what your com­mer­cial facil­i­ty needs for its firestop­ping so you can focus on your busi­ness. With fire engi­neers on staff, a no work stop­page guar­an­tee, and mul­ti­ser­vice reper­toire, you only have to imple­ment one con­trac­tor onboard­ing, one walk­through, and one con­tract when work­ing with us.

To learn more about us and all that we do, con­tact us online or give us a call at 9785321414 today.

Partner with Kaloutas

Kaloutas simplifies facility management by offering comprehensive services including industrial flooring, cleaning, coating, fireproofing, and containment. We streamline your operations, ensuring compliance, safety, and aesthetics while reducing complexity in the process. Our Hard Work Made Easy solution eliminates the need for multiple contractors, guaranteeing minimal downtime and expert execution. With over 30 years of experience, we make facility maintenance effortless. Contact us to discover how we can meet your needs and save you time through our consolidated approach.

Partner With Kaloutas

Your facility's needs wait for no one. Fill out our form below and a sales team member will connect with you within 24 hours.